Tickets

                            By:

                         Fox Cutter

02/14/96:

I threw my backpack onto the couch, and sank down into the
cushions beside it. Laying my head back, I stared at the
ceiling, and let out a slow sigh.

"Something wrong?" Oriana asked, looking down from the
kitchen.

"Not much. I just have a teacher I'm having problems trying
to talk to," I said, pulling my jacket off.

"Oh, what's wrong?"

I shrugged, "Apparently he didn't like my doing one of the
projects the way it said to in the book. I figured I would
talk to him, find out what I need to do, and he can revise
the book."

A smile played over Oria's muzzle, as she came down the
stairs. "I see. To change the subject, I've gotten
everything set up, just like I said I would."

I sat up, "Really. So what exactly is this idea of yours
that might help?"

She grinned wider, and handed me a small pamphlet. Raising
my eyebrows, I took it from her and flipped through the
pages. It appeared to be an ad for a two week intergalactic
cruise a few universes over. It landed on seven planets, and
three moons, would have dining and dancing, with a sun dive
halfway through the trip.

I shrugged, handing it back, "Nice, but not really my style.
I would stick out like a sore thumb, as usual. Anyway, I
somehow doubt I could afford it."

Sitting down next to me, she grinned widely, her tail
flicking around to rest on the couch next to her. "Well...
yes. But think about it-- it's through five open verses, so
you wouldn't stick out anymore than you normally would here.
It will be relaxing, which I think you need, and no one
should be trying to kill you. And it will help with your
fears."

I nodded, "So, that's all fine and good, but I'm still not
interested."

She shook her head with her eyes closed, "Come on, Fox! You,
yourself, say you never get out. Well, this is your big
chance. You can meet people from all over, maybe make some
friends that could come in handy in the future. Maybe even
find a good-looking woman you can get involved with."

I gave her a cock-eyed grin, "Well, all of those are good
points, especially the last one." I grinned as I said this,
though I did notice that there was a slight fading in the
glint of her eyes. At the time I wrote it off as a result of
the setting suns outside.

"But...?"

"There is still no way in any verse I could afford it." I
said, with a bit of a chuckle in my voice.

She grinned, and handed the pamphlet back, "Look in the back
page."

I raised an eyebrow again, but looked. In the very back,
tucked into a loose-leaf were two tickets. I pulled them out
and looked them over. "Wow! Oria, how in this world did you
get the cash for these!?"

She winked, "One of my little secrets. So, want to go?"

I grinned at her, but the grin slowly faded as I read the
tickets. "This trip starts on the twenty-fourth, Earth time.
I'm not out of school till the twentieth of next month."

She shook her head again. "Fox, it's only two weeks. Use a
Bio-drone."

I sighed, handing the pamphlet, and tickets, back to her.
"You know my feelings about those things."

She looked me straight in the eye, and said, "Fox,
seriously, what is the worst thing that can possibly happen
if you take this trip?"

"I could flunk out."

She rolled her eyes, "You've said that there is no real hard
work you need to do. Why not get as much as you can out of
the way before we leave, then you can afford to miss two
weeks."

I rolled it over in my head, then nodded, "You're right.
You're absolutely fragging right! I could pull this off,
even with a Bio-drone!"

"So you'll go?"

"Yes, it sounds fun!" I grinned as I said it.

"Thanks!" she said, kissed me on the cheek, then ran
upstairs to her room.

I rubbed my cheek a bit. 'What was that for?' I wondered to
myself.

-----

This story is copyright 1996-2003 by Fox Cutter. Hardcopy
reprints limited to one per person, all other rights
reserved. This story may not be distributed for a fee except
by permission of the author, and this copyright notice may
not be removed.